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Racine Zoo mourns loss of 5-year-old African penguin Nelson
Milana Doné
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Nelson, an African penguin at the Racine Zoo, passed away June 3 following a terminal illness. |
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According to the zoo, Nelson formed more of a bonded relationship with hiskeepers than any of the other penguins. He clung to their shoes and responded to scratches with his own “preening” of the keepers’ fingers.
The zoo said animal care staff recently noticed changes in Nelson’s behavior and appetite that indicated something was wrong.
After exams determined a terminal illness, staff considered quality of life and declining condition. Nelson was euthanized June 3 surrounded by the animal care team, who the zoo said will remember and miss him.
African penguins live along the coast of South Africa and are the only species of penguins that live on the continent.
Their typical lifespan is 15-20 years in the wild and 20-30 years or longer in human care.
From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/article_a6fdf43b-88e6-4bfe-b2cb-929eec2ba897.html
Recent stories by Racine Journal Times reporter Milana Doné
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Events planned throughout Racine County over Memorial Day weekend
Milana Doné
RACINE — Racine County residents have a handful options available to honor service members this Memorial Day weekend.
Racine
The Racine Memorial Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. Monday on Washington Avenue at West Boulevard, according to Racine Area Veterans Inc.. The parade moves north along West Boulevard to Osborne Road, and concludes at Graceland Cemetery with a remembrance ceremony at 11 a.m.
West Boulevard between Washington Avenue and Osborne Boulevard will be closed from about 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m..
Over the weekend, the Racine Zoo, at 2131 N. Main Street, will feature extended summer hours. From May 23-25, the zoo will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mount Pleasant
West Lawn Memorial Park’s Memorial Day Honor Service is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday at 9000 Washington Avenue in Racine.
The ceremony includes a flag display from a South Shore Fire Department ladder truck, a portrayal of George Washington by a historical reenactor and patriotic music performed by the Racine Lutheran High School Band.
Additionally, patrons can expect a reading of the names of veterans interred at West Lawn since last Memorial Day. It will be followed by a dove release and the placement of a wreath at the veterans’ memorial.
Wind Lake
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8343 will host its Memorial Day ceremony from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
It will feature a motorcycle parade led by the Gary Wetzel Riders, the motorcycle club of Wisconsin Medal of Honor recipient. The parade will leave from The Penny Bar at 6959 South Loomis Road at 11 a.m. Riders will travel around Wind Lake to the VFW memorial grounds next to B-Lazy Bar and Grill at 7922 South Loomis Road.
The ceremony also will include reading the names of veterans, live music by the Smooth Blues Band, games, a firework show, raffles and the Boy Scout food booth.
Union Grove
The fifth annual Memorial Day Parade to honor the residents of Wisconsin Veterans Home Union Grove will be held Monday.
Parade participants will meet between 1:30 and 2:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the Racine County Fairgrounds and can use the Highway 45 Fairgrounds entrance.
The vehicles will leave the fairgrounds at about 2:30 p.m. and travel on Highway 11 and Highway C to the grounds of Southern Wisconsin Center and the Wisconsin Veterans Home.
They will then pass through the adjacent Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery and take a final pass by the Wisconsin Veterans Home.
The parade will include vehicles from the Kansasville Fire Department and Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department.
More information can be found by contacting committee member David Bart at 847-691-3901 or Ellen Jante at 262-492-2439.
Burlington area
The Rochester Memorial Parade is one of the longest-running traditions in the state.
It will line up at 1 p.m. Monday at the Rochester Fire Department at 31020 Academy Road in Burlington. The parade steps off at 1:30 p.m. and will end at Pioneer Park. The post-parade ceremony features taps, the lowering of a wreath and a flag-folding ceremony.
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Second bighorn born at Racine Zoo, follows first born last week
Milana Doné
RACINE — Another bighorn sheep has joined the family at the Racine Zoo.
The zoo welcomed two female Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Helga and Mantis, earlier this year. Mantis delivered a boy May 12, and Helga delivered a girl Wednesday, according to a news release from the zoo.
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Neither baby has been named. Patrons can vote on name options on the Racine Zoo Facebook page.
Options for Mantis’s boy are Sierra, Cosmo and Topaz. Voting is open until May 24 at noon, and the winning name will be announced May 25.
Options for Helga’s girl are Greta, Romayne and Ruby. Voting is open until May 31 at noon, and the winning name will be announced June 1.
Saturday, May 16, 2026
Three bighorn sheep are latest additions at the Racine Zoo
RACINE — Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are the latest additions to the Racine Zoo's Mountain exhibit.
Helga and Mantis were born in spring 2023 at Hemker Park and Zoo in Freeport, Minnesota.
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Helga and Mantis are pictured with Mantis’s baby at the Racine Zoo. After being quarantined off-exhibit, the three are now enjoying the Mountain exhibit. Courtesy of Racine Zoo |
They arrived in Racine on Feb. 23 and were held in an off-exhibit quarantine, but are now at their new home in the exhibit, which underwent construction and renovations during the last year, according to a news release from the zoo.
According to the release, Bighorn sheep are the largest sheep native to
North America. They are named for the males’ large, spiraled horns, which can weigh up to 30 pounds.
The sheep are native to alpine grasslands of Western North America. In the mid-1800s, there were an estimated 200,000 sheep in the region, the release said. Their numbers declined as a result of hunting, habitat loss and the spread of disease from domesticated animals.
The numbers are now somewhat stabilized, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as “least concern.”
Recent stories by Racine Journal Times reporter Milana Doné
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Racine Zoo preparing [to] welcome an Eastern Black Rhino
Holly Gilvary
A South African university launched an anti-poaching campaign on Thursday to inject the horns of rhinos with radioactive isotopes that it said were harmless for the animals but which can be detected by customs agents. (AP Video: Alfonso Nqunjana)
RACINE — The Racine Zoo is preparing to welcome Ayubu, an Eastern Black Rhino male, to its “Land of Giants” area.
Five-year-old Ayubu will make the journey from the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kansas, in a few days, according to the Racine Zoo.
After his arrival, Ayubu will be cared for in the Land of Giants rhino barn for quarantine for at least 30 days before he is available to be seen on exhibit. Although the Racine Zoo has exhibited paired rhinos in the past, male Eastern Black Rhinos are often solitary animals who thrive on their own.
Ayubu is being moved based on recommendations from the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums’ Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan.
The Racine Zoo said it has worked closely with Lee Richardson Zoo during the past year to plan Ayubu’s trip. Racine Zoo staff prepped the enclosures this past winter while Lee Richardson staff have worked on his crate training and other behaviors needed to ensure a successful trip.
Eastern Black Rhino males are most noted for their horns, which can weigh more than six pounds and exceed 50 inches in length. The horns are comprised of a protein called keratin, and are sought after by poachers as a “remedy” for various ailments or as a status symbol, according to the Racine Zoo.
Eastern Black Rhinos are critically endangered in their wild range, with numbers dropping from around 70,000 in the 1970s to about 1,650 today.
The AZA’s Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan aims to conserve Eastern Black Rhinos around the world, including by maintaining important genetic diversity within the captive population.
Monday, February 2, 2026
What was the Milwaukee County Zoo rhino's prediction on Groundhog Day?
Hannah Kirby
The rhino has spoken.
Without a resident groundhog, the Milwaukee County Zoo had an eastern black rhino – one of its newest residents – handle its Groundhog Day prediction this year.
According to non-scientific tradition, if a groundhog emerges from its den on Feb. 2 and sees its shadow, it'll return to its burrow for six more weeks of winter. If it's a cloudy day and it doesn't see its shadow, there will be an early spring.
Rhino Kianga predicted "cloudy skies and an early spring forecast," the zoo posted on social media before 8:45 a.m. Feb. 2.
The zoo shared a video of a cloud poster and a sun poster propped up next to each other. Kianga is seen waltzing up to the posters and nudging the cloud one.
While the Milwaukee County Zoo's Groundhog Day prediction had been a media-only event since 2021, it went online-only for 2026.
Is Kianga on the same page as Punxsutawney Phil? Nope, Phil saw his shadow. But Jimmy the Groundhog in Sun Prairie didn't see his shadow.
Kianga, 22, from the Racine Zoo, joined the Milwaukee County Zoo in October, along with fellow eastern black rhino Zuri, 16, from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
They reside in the new Ladish Co. Foundation Rhino Care Center and Robert Dohmen Hippo Indoor Haven. Female Zuri and male Kianga have been paired as potential breeding partners via the multi-zoo Eastern Black Rhino Species Survival Plan.
After the passing of the zoo's last groundhog, Gordy, in 2023, Humboldt penguins were consulted for the 2024 winter-weather prediction, and in 2025, Nigerian dwarf goats did the honors.
Getting a new groundhog is not a simple matter, explained Bridget Carpenter, assistant curator of the zoo's family farm, in a 2025 interview. Here's a look at why that is.
Jim Higgins of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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